The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (connect with Frankenstein).

“Laws of Hospitality”. Transgression, the laws of Nature (anima mundi). Nature is alive and
has its own laws and rules.

Nature is introduced from the very beginning.

In his Latin quotation, Coleridge insists on the idea of going beyond nature, according to him,
there are supernatural things invisible to the human eye. Interest narrows our perception of
the world. Coleridge appeals to the reader and wants us to open our minds.

Regarding the genre, it is a ballad because of its supernatural topic. Regarding the form, it is a
subtle dialogue that conveys a vivid description, which was typical of ballads.

From the beginning, the mariner is described from the wedding guest’s eyes. There is frequent
reference to the “glittering eye”. Repetition is one of the main features of ballads. The mariner
is described as odd, which creates a supernatural atmosphere.

“Long grey beard”. Conveys experience and wisdom. The mariner seems to have strange
powers because of his glittering eye and the way he talks. He is vampire-like in the sense that
he has the wedding guest’s will. In other words, he has no choice but to listen.

As Coleridge wanted to convey a sense of traditionalism (traditional ballad), he used archaic

words all throughout the poem.

There are two main settings in the ballad: the wedding and the ship. There is an adequacy in
the sense that the wedding is described as a feast (happiness).

“And now the storm-blast came”. There is a change. Nature is now changing, turning into
something menacing and terrifying. By means of repeating the word “and”, the poet wants us
to understand the mariner’s desperate reaction, as nature is not friendly anymore. He also
emphasizes solitude, which in this case, is negatively connoted.

There is ice, used in an alliteration and also paralysis (immutability). The ice is trying to engulf
the ship.

“At length did cross an Albatross…”. The albatross is perceived as a good omen. It promotes
movement and seems to be helping the crew. The albatross is a manifestation of nature being
alive (natura naturans). As opposed to Wordsworth’s works, there is a reference to religion. A
blend of religious references and platonic ones (Neoplatonic tradition). The Albatross is to be
equated with Christ on the cross/carrying the cross. That’s why the action of killing it
(transgression) is so serious.

Even though the bird was seen as a good omen by the rest of the crew, eventually, they
associate the bird with punishment and retribution as a result of such transgression (a bad
omen). “Nor breath nor motion, as idle as a painted ship, upon a painted ocean”. This is an
alliteration of paralysis. There is now a complete paralysis as opposed to the dynamic nature
introduced at the beginning. There is no hope anymore.

“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink”. The bird is tantalizing (as Tantalous was
punished without being able to drink water from the river).

From now on, nature is transformed, hinting at the supernatural, as there are slimy crawling
creatures. Fire was sparkling in red and greenish colors, which we now know is a chemical
reaction, but mariners did not, so they perceived it as a bad omen and unnatural (St. Elmo’s
fire). This reference is to be connected with folklore.

“The witch’s oils”. It is an explicit reference to Shakespeare’s Macbeth (the three witches
burning oils), and is also another reference to the supernatural.

“The Albatross about my neck was hung”. Carrying the cross (reference to Christ). According
to Catholic religion, the cross is a symbol of sacrifice. The mariner is now the one carrying the
cross (the Albatross) as he has to atone for his crimes, his sin, his transgression.

By means of the repetition of the word “weary”, the poet conveys a sense of paralysis.
Paralysis is perceived as a curse.

“A speck, a mist, a shape…”. The strange object is about to be revealed in these lines. A ship is
approaching. The poet is trying to create an atmosphere of suspense by not revealing the true
nature of the ship immediately. (Motif: the ghost ship)

The ship is finally revealed, it is not a normal ship (the ghost ship) but referred to as ‘skeleton
ship’. (As the ship in Dracula which transforms into a ghost ship on his arrival to England).

There is a clear reference to the Flying Dutchman (whose origin lies in the Catholic tradition of
the Wandering Jew) in connection with the mariner. The crew consists of 2 mariners, one is
Death and the other Life-In-Death (Sin and Death as in Paradise Lost). The crew from the ghost
ship is playing with the mariners` lives. Life in Death wins as a result of which, a curse is
unleashed. The mariner has to stay alive and wandering, a negative portrayal of the wanderer
(as opposed to the wanderer in I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud).

Frequent references to drops and dropping, which serve as an image of nature in decadence
(as the Mariner is a sinner). The souls of the dead crew going through the mariner is the
beginning of his punishment. His soul needs to be regenerated.

“Fear not, this body dropt not down”. To inform the reader the Mariner did not die. He
remained zombie-like but still alive.

“Alone, alone, all, all alone” Is a reference to Christ’s desolation when he felt forsaken by his
father.

“My heart as dry as dust”. Because he is a sinner, still there is an effort to pray.

Finally, the Mariner is blessing nature as it is with every single creature. For the first time, he
can pray, which is the beginning of regeneration, as a result of which, the Albatross falls off his
neck.

“’O sleep! It is a gentle thing…”. The mariner was stuck in a phase of paralysis. The idea of
sleep is frequent in literature. There is a blessing religiously connoted referring to Mary Queen,
an intermediary between Christ and the sinner. The mariner was very thirsty, however, it
finally started to rain (in connection with purification). All this is to be connected with
regeneration. The wind is to be connected with the Holy Ghost, as Coleridge is mixing Platonic
elements with Catholic tradition.

A few lines below: “The helmsman steer’d, the ship moved on”. At this point, there is a breeze
and the corpses are like puppets whose symbolic strings are pulled by angels. In the process of
being reborn, your senses awaken to a new reality. The mariner died metaphorically and now
he is reborn. From here on out, there is an emphasis on senses, sweet music and sounds.
There are references to instruments and angels singing, which is connected with the
Neoplatonic tradition. The Skylark (Alondra) is a sign of inspiration and rebirth for the
romantics.

“How long in that same fit I lay…”. There is a dialogue here, resulting in the mariner remaining
cursed because of his transgression.

“For she guides him smooth or grim”. “She” is both the Moon, looking down on the Mariner
and a reference to the Virgin Mary. The role of the Moon is very important, dating back to
antiquity when femininity was typically represented by a horned Moon.

“Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship”. There is a reference to the stony eyes connected with the eyes
of the mariner, who was unable to see into the light of things. There is an emphasis on sight
and how the curse is broken as he is now able to see into the light of things (as in the poem
Regeneration). There is a reference to the wind moving (natura naturans), positively connoted,
inspiring the Mariner. There is a transition from metaphorical Winter to Spring.

“O dream of joy! Is this indeed the lighthouse top I see?”. The lighthouse becomes his symbol
of safety, guidance and enlightenment. From this moment on, the mariner becomes a prophet
whose main mission is to provide his listeners with a moral.

“O let me be awake, my God! Or let me sleep always”. The mariner realizes he has awoken
from his curse and asks God for redemption, or else he wants to die and be put at the mercy of
God.

Towards the end of part VI, the Hermit is introduced in connection with nature and an ideal
way of living. The Hermit is introduced as a priest that washes away his sins: “he’ll wash away
the albatross’s blood”

In part VII, the Hermit is described as a person who lives in the woods, entuned with nature.
On the one hand, he is religiously connoted (he kneels and prays).

When the mariner is back in society, he encounters the Hermit, who sees the mariner as a
fiend (an outcast).

The sinking ship is a frequent motif in literature which conveys the sense of things going back
to normal. If the “ship” sinks, it goes back to where it belongs, the world of the supernatural.

The mariner’s transgression is so severe that he remains cursed to wander, feeling the urge to
tell his tale to someone as an exemplum (like Robinson Crusoe did when he returned to
society), a cautionary tale intending to teach a moral or warn about something.

At the end, as our perception of the mariner has changed, he is exploiting the fact that we
know he is an outcast, so as opposed to the beginning, there is no adequacy anymore. The
mariner is alone and wandering forever, and now we understand the reason why.

The moral of the story is to respect every single element in nature (anima mundi), as we’re all
part of the same whole. The wedding guest is now sadder and wiser after listening to the
Mariner’s story. He is sad because he lost his innocence, but wiser because his knowledge has
increased.